In the Social Affairs Unit’s Web Review, I examine the phenomenon of Che Guevara and a recent book that is critical of this hero to many students:

At universities across Britain and in the United States, students can be found wearing t-shirts emblazened with the image of Ernesto “Che” Guevara. While Britain’s National Union of Students has a “no platform” policy for those who support extremist ideologies, it does not seem to extend to those who idolise Guevara. The 2006 Terrorism Act made it a criminal offence to glorify terrorism, yet no one has been prosecuted for glorifying Che. This is a man who plotted to bomb New York decades before Osama Bin Laden.

Are these Che-supporting students on hallucinogenic drugs? Perhaps, but it is more likely that there are now two Guevaras. The first is is the historical figure; the second is the chic brand. Self-styled “progressive” students know little, if anything of the former: a man who put gay students in prisons and gratuitously killed tail-wagging dogs. For followers of the brand, Che has been morphed into a statement against George W. Bush, the military-industrial complex and global capitalism.